Pairing great food with seasonal spirits!

Simple Pumpkin Soup & A Pumpkin Ale

It’s October! That means pumpkin season is officially here! I don’t care if I already posted about a pumpkin beer, there are so many to try and they all taste so different. This month I am dedicating to all things October and that means tons of pumpkin.

So why don’t I kick this off with a simple pumpkin soup to go with my pumpkin ale?

The Beer:

To kick off October, I’m starting with Smuttynose Brewing Company’s Pumpkin Ale. It says that it is an ale brewed with pumpkin puree and spices). It also has some really cute art on the bottle.

Style: A traditional ale with pumpkin puree and spices.

Color: A light orange amber

Aroma: It smells like an ale with only a hint of pumpkin pie.

Taste: This beer is subtle in flavor with nice medium body and a mildly spicy finish.

Level of Recommendation: Best for when you only want a hint of pumpkin, but not too much pumpkin.

The Food:

I wanted to make something simple this week. The weather has cooled down a lot in the past few days. Soup seemed the best option. I also really wanted to have a bit more pumpkin in my life. Thus I picked pumpkin soup.

What you’ll need:

1 can of pumpkin puree

4 cups vegetable stock

1 clove of garlic grated

Grated ginger

1/2 cup of almond milk

1 tsp of pumpkin pie spice

A dash of maple syrup

Pumpkin seeds to garnish

Whisk pumpkin puree, vegetable stock, garlic, and ginger in a soup pan. Bring to a boil. Once the soup is boiling, reduce the heat to a low simmer. Add in the almond milk, pumpkin pie spice, and maple syrup (to taste). Simmer for 20 minutes.

Serve hot and garnish with pumpkin seeds. Add in some goat cheese and serve with hearty bread.

The Paring:

This is a very savory dish (unless you add in a ton of maple syrup). It works well with the ale and makes it seem lighter. The soup also helps to bring out the spices in the beer.

Level of Recommendation: It’s prefect for a savory pumpkin appetizer, but be warned, there’s a lot of pumpkin in this dish.